Scope
Description
Wiltshire is the sixth largest English county by area, with a population of 520k, living 53% in urban and 47% in rural areas. Residents rely heavily on private vehicle transport, with 85% household vehicle ownership, while 24% of residential buildings have on-street parking only. In July '25 Wiltshire hosted 487 public charging devices, while the latest DfT/Cenex modelling of future EV charging demand anticipates a requirement for 2761 AC chargers by 2030 (mid uptake projection).
Wiltshire Council is seeking CPO partners to rapidly scale up the county's EV public charging offer, primarily to serve residents parking on-street and without access to home charging. A 15-year concession contract is offered to design, build, maintain and operate new public EV charging, supported by council investment of £3.889m LEVI capital funding.
Contract development utilised GIS analysis, bespoke site selection methodology, LEVI support body advice, community input and feedback from soft market testing. Balancing these factors identified Wiltshire would be best served by a contract that recognised key geographical differences and their associated requirements. On this basis, the LEVI Contract is divided into two lots, urban and rural.
The Urban lot focuses on providing overnight EV charging for residents within walking distance, through the provision of on-street EV charging using standard AC devices. Installation sites are specified by target area, which are spatially defined by Lower Super Output Area (LSOA), allowing CPO expertise to identify specific device instal locations. Prioritised urban target area listings combine sites with both high commercial viability and those enabling social equity of charging provision. A range of charging device types must be available to instal, which will be prioritised as follows: 1st) lamppost-based chargers; 2nd) bollard chargers; and 3rd) flat & flush chargers. This approach aims to maximise capital investment impact, whilst ensuring charging devices are available which fit local context.
The Rural lot focuses on providing destination hubs in large rural villages, to provide both overnight charging for residents within walking distance and short dwell charging for residents driving in from the surrounding rural area. To provide this each hub will host standard AC chargers, alongside a DC rapid charger. Rural sites in Wiltshire are known to suffer grid constraints. Consequently, hub instals must employ innovative technologies that provide rapid charging functionality while avoiding substantial supply grid upgrade costs (e.g. utilising an integrated battery energy storage system (BESS)).
The identification of urban target areas and rural hubs has been both data led and community informed. Council officers have engaged with local councillors to build project awareness and incorporate community knowledge. This information is captured within the contract through supporting schedules identifying target area insights and key contacts.
Contract financial arrangements are sympathetic to a CPO partners early project commitments. Tariffs are managed through a set margin cap. A concession fee is required to cover the council officer contract management costs, which remain in place until a set level of profitability is reached, when they are replaced by a revenue share to the council at a rate proposed by the bidding CPO.
Wiltshire Council intends to hold a market engagement webinar at 1000 on Thu 28th August 2025, via Microsoft Teams, at which we will expand on the contract details.
Any suppliers interested in attending should email EVITeam@wiltshire.gov.uk for further information. Enquiries must be received no later than 1200 on Tue 26th August 2025.
Total value (estimated)
- £3,889,000 excluding VAT
- £4,666,800 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 30 April 2026 to 30 April 2038
- 12 years, 1 day
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 31158000 - Chargers
- 45233160 - Paths and other metalled surfaces
- 51214000 - Installation services of parking meter equipment
- 63712400 - Parking services
- 71314100 - Electrical services
- 71323100 - Electrical power systems design services
Contract locations
- UKK15 - Wiltshire CC
Engagement
Engagement deadline
26 August 2025
Engagement process description
Wiltshire Council intends to hold a market engagement webinar at 1000 on Thu 28th August 2025, via Microsoft Teams, at which we will expand on the contract details.
Any suppliers interested in attending should email EVITeam@wiltshire.gov.uk for further information. Enquiries must be received no later than 1200 on Tue 26th August 2025.
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
13 November 2025
Procedure
Special regime
Concession
Contracting authority
Wiltshire Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PDZR-9968-RYYY
Wiltshire Council
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN
United Kingdom
Email: david.gillett@wiltshire.gov.uk
Website: http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/
Region: UKK15 - Wiltshire CC
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government